Page 26

Tito

In the morning, I woke up then I simply laid there and watched her sleep.

I wanted every day to be like this. Waking up while wrapped up in each other’s arms. Being able to enjoy her.

To know that I would be with her all over again for another day together.

I breathed her sweet scent in. I wondered how she could smell so good, when she hadn’t had any access to her things.

I paused and realized she didn't really have many things. She needed to start all over again. I did know that Julianna brought her some clothes, shoes and other stuff. But what did she need that she didn’t have?

I felt bad to have never thought about it before now.

Then again, it hadn’t been any of my business when I was just a wannabe boyfriend without the courage to make my move. Now I was her fiance.

I smirked to myself. Not yet, but soon.

“Why are you smiling?” she asked.

I focused on her face and replied, “I was immersed in happiness.”

She yawned and scooted closer. “All by yourself? You do know that’s like a bad habit, right?”

I laughed.

“Like didn’t your mom tell you it would make you go blind?”

I couldn’t believe her jokes as I really laughed hard. “You are too much!”

She actually deadpanned me as she looked entirely serious. “Yes, but making yourself too happy might be too much too .”

I hooted with a snorting laugh. “Damn Valen… Clever play on words, but it was all about you really.” I chuckled. “I was lying here looking at you and wondering how you could smell so good.”

“Wondering?” She stared at me. “I don’t know if I should feel complimented or insulted?”

“Definitely complimented.” I smirked at her. “We had my soap and regular shampoo in the shower yesterday. Stuff I use every day and I have NEVER smelled as good as you do.”

Now it was her turn to laugh.

“So that got me thinking.”

“Uh-oh,” she teased. “That’s dangerous.”

I smiled at her and shook my head. I was just discovering this hidden sense of humor that I didn’t know she possessed. “I want you to get online and order all the stuff you are missing.”

“Missing?” she repeated.

“Yes, baby.” I nodded at her. “You never packed up and moved here.”

She rolled her eyes as she propped her elbow up and braced her head in her hand. “I know, Tito. I never got the chance to rent a U-haul. I was apprehended in a church by the Rebel Saints of all things then deposited here in zipties.”

“Best day of my life,” I told her.

She stared at me. “Not my best day. I looked like a psycho. I was screaming and snarling in rage. Della attacking me…” She paused. “I deserved that though. I swear I never meant to hurt her. At the time, I really thought I was helping her by sending her to your family.”

“And it worked,” I said. “Look at her now.”

“Yeah, married and on her honeymoon.” Valencia nodded. “Except I don’t understand why they went to some tiny town in Mississippi.”.

I laughed. “Tennessee. And from what I understand, it was because of Moon Pies?”

“Oh! That cake at their wedding? Made out of layers of Moon Pies? Della said it was so romantic. I didn’t get it, but she was so happy, I just nodded my head at her.”

“But you were right about sending her here,” I told her as I grabbed her up and rolled onto my back. Propping her onto my stomach, I gazed up at her. “I’m sorry that I’m not sorry they brought you here.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a non-apology-apology before.” She rolled her eyes. “So, back to this online thing.”

“Yes, I want you to use my credit card and buy like…all the stuff you need.”

“What?” She looked surprised.

“Buy body wash, shoes, underwear, nail polish.” I shook my head. “Not in that exact order, but you know, all the lady stuff.”

She stared at me.

“What?” I asked her.

“Tito, you never offer a credit card to a girl.” She grinned. “You know that, right?”

I chuckled. “But you are my girl. I mean…we are together. I just feel bad that I never thought about it before now. A woman usually has a lot of things that they need.”

She shrugged. “Julianna has brought me stuff several times.”

“Yes, but her stuff, right?”

“I guess? I mean some of it was brand new. She’s been really good to me.”

“And you were so good for her during the last couple of days.”

“I do know how it feels to have lived within someone else’s lie. I really never considered I was anyone except for Olivia’s daughter. Then again, it turned out that I was her daughter. And I do believe Deacon, he didn’t know about it.”

“He never told you the truth about other things. So, I’m not sure he’s someone you should trust, Valen.”

“Maybe for all of you but that I know of, he never lied to me. Yes, he never told me about the infamous O. But I was thinking about that and could anyone blame him? Like he was supposed to sit me down and say. Sorry kid, but Mom is a psycho. She has killed many people, runs drugs and slave rings. Just thought you should know .”

I shook my head. “Ok, you got a point. And it’s obvious that families keep secrets.”

“Yes, I know.”

“So, back to my favorite subject…”

She smiled down at me. “Oh? And what is that?”

“You, of course!” I exclaimed as I grasped her waist and pressed my thumbs into her ribs.

“Oooh!” she yelped as she squirmed and giggled. “I’m ticklish there.”

“I know!” I laughed as I enjoyed watching her face go pink. “That’s why I'm doing it. So tell me yes,” I urged.

Breathless with giggles, she asked, “F-for w-what?”

“Taking my credit card and buying your stuff,” I said as I kept a hold of her squirming form.

“Ok, but stop with the tickling!” She gasped for air.

“So you agree? I want you to get whatever you want and need,” I added. “Like even clothes.”

“Seriously, Tito. I don’t want to spend your money.”

“But I want you to. Like I’ve piled up money for the last ten years, Valen. In fact, Dante invested some of it and made me rich. So you don’t have to worry about spending too much.”

“I don’t know what to say,” she whispered softly.

“Just say yes.”

She kept staring at me, then she finally said, “Ok.”

“Ok?” I asked.

Nodding, she lowered her head to kiss me briefly and sweetly. Then she said, “Might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“No, it isn’t. I wanna do a lot of things for you. I just can’t think of anything else right now.”

She chuckled. “Dang, you are adorable.”

I sat up with her in my lap and growled. “I am not.” I moved her red hair away from her neck and kissed her skin there. Then I made small snarling noises and pretended to bite on her neck.

Giggling, she exclaimed, “Ok, ok…You aren’t sweet and adorable. You’re a growly bear of a man.”

We laughed together.

“I’m just so in love with you, Valen,” I whispered into her ear.

With a shiver, she replied, “Same as I’m in love with you, Mr. Adorable .”

I tisked in fake disgust.

She laughed again.

“Ok, I think we’d better get to breakfast.” I scooted us both to the edge of bed.

“Yes,” she agreed. “Zia doesn’t like it when people are late.”

“She’s always been that way,” I told her. “She’s even cussed Uncle Stephano out if he’s late. Like even if there's a mafia war going on.”

“That's not real, is it?”

“What?” I asked.

“Mafia wars,” she replied. “I mean that’s just in old movies. It’s not normal these days, right?”

“Well, the last skirmish here in New Orleans was just a couple of weeks ago.”

“Oh, that thing with Deacon and that Pippo guy?”

“Yes, you were the one that told us about that.”

“That Deacon planned to meet with him, yes. And it turned out to be…” She nodded. “Was that a mafia war?”

I nodded. “Yeah, must have been. When bullets flew, that made it a war.”

She tightened her grip around my neck. “I could have lost you.”

“Rocky and I did our job and we all made it out okay.”

“They said it was an actual shootout and that Della and Dante could have been killed. I was scared for you when Julianna told me about it.”

“You were?” I asked.

“I was,” she replied. “I just couldn't believe people were shooting at you guys.”

I kissed her cheek and said, “It happens.”

“H-how often?” she asked a bit nervously.

I stood from the bed then sat her down. “Not often. Like you said. That kind of thing happens less now. Like even a few years ago there were more incidents. The last incident I heard about was a few years back when Gezeppi Farentino wanted to knock off the top three guys on the Council.”

“Really? A mob hit type thing?”

“Yeah, something like that. Only it never came off like poor Gezeppi planned,” I said as I looked around for her robe. “He ended up dead but not by the mob.”

“Really? What happened?”

“His wife shot him when she caught him with the maid.” Suddenly, I spotted the robe on the floor behind the chair.

“What?” she asked in surprise.

I stepped over and grabbed the robe. “Yeah, then she called the head of the council and told him what she did. Rocky was there when the head guy got her call and she said, ‘I caught him out. In our own home no less. And that maid was barely of age.’ She also informed them of Gezeppi’s previous plan to kill off the top three.

Said she just found that out right before she found him with the maid.

She gave them all the names of those involved.

In return, she asked for a good lawyer when the time came for her trial. ” I brought the robe over to her.

“What?” Valencia exclaimed. “So, did she go to prison?”

“No, the Council relocated her and the maid.”

“Wow.”

“So, I guess the lesson here was that it’s pretty stupid to plan hits and hit on the maid.”

Valencia paused then laughed.

“Rocky and I even made a running joke out of it.”

“Like how?”

I shrugged and explained it, “If either of us messed up or goofed. We would say, wow, that’s pretty Gezeppi of you. Or Damn, I Gezeppied again!”

We both laughed as she donned the robe.

“Do you want me to go and get you an outfit?” I asked her.

“No, I mean I need to look through what I have. You looking for my underwear would probably take too long.”

With a snort, I walked over to my dresser. “Like I would get lost in your panty drawer? Fall in and never be able to climb out.” I opened a drawer and took out a pair of my briefs.

Laughing, she replied, “Could happen, maybe?” She paused. “Like you don’t know what—”

“How about you move into my room?” I broke into her sentence.

Staring at me, she paused. “Really?”

“Yes, really . Me, you, us. Remember?” I reminded her. “Why should we stay separated?”

“It's not separation really. I’m two doors away.”

“I don’t want you any doors away, Valen.”

“Like I said, sweet and adorable.” She looked around, then went over to pick up her sandals. She raised one foot and slipped a sandal on then did the same with the other.

I went over and took her into my arms. “I want to wake up with you next to me every day. Like you know. Forever?”

She smiled at me and replied, “Ok.”

“Ok?”

Nodding, she raised up on her tiptoes and kissed my lips. Then she pulled back. “I will meet you in the dining room.”

I stared at her. “You aren’t like anyone I have ever known, sweet Valen.”

“Good.” She smirked.

“I mean, I ask you something. Then you are like ok .”

Cocking her head at me, she looked confused.

I chuckled and tapped her nose with my finger. “I’m just lucky, I guess?”

She stared at me. “I don’t understand?”

“You don’t argue. Like many girls go on and on. Not you. I make a point and you say, ok .”

Laughing, Valen stepped away from me and headed to the door. “If you want, I could give you a hard time?”

I shook my head. “No… I love you just the way you are.”

She got to the door, opened it and made a point to look back at me. “Ok.” Giving me a wink, she shut the door.

I felt good about her agreeing to move in with me.

Then maybe later we could get our own place…

I paused. As long as I was a protector I needed to be here.

Even Rocky lived nearby. He had an actual house on the property, though it was like a mile away.

As a wedding gift, Uncle Stephano gave him the large 10 acre lot and paid for his house to be built.

He hadn’t taken no for an answer. Not that I expected such a thing nor did I need it after Dante made me fairly well off with a few investments.

I got dressed and hurried out of the room. Heading to the dining room, I again couldn’t wait to be next to her. My Valen.

Wow, I had it bad. And that felt so good.